TO SOME people they’re flying rats - but one Kegworth lady says life has been a real ‘coo’ after spending the last month living with a pigeon.

Rachael Moran, 29, of Oldershaw Avenue found the roughly eight-day-old chick injured and unable to move outside her house on Saturday, June 14.

She’s now reared ‘Bob’ into full health after putting a makeshift splint on what appeared to be a broken leg.

He’s learnt to fly in her kitchen and as the Echo went to press Rachael was due to release him back into the wild.

She is no stranger to looking after animals and through her work with rat charity Ratalicious Rescue has dozens of rats in the house alongside her Chinchilla, African Hedgehog, harvest mouse, fish, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamster and ferret.

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“It’s been great fun and I’ve totally changed my opinion of pigeons,” said Rachael of her month with Bob. “I really like them now.

“Some people find living with a pigeon a bit strange as they think of them as vermin.

“It’s amazing how many people get scared of him but I’ve made sure he’s clean and he’s friendly - he could be a pigeon ambassador.

“I spent hours reading up on how you should look after pigeons including what they feed on and how you should handle them.

“I do that with every animal I look after, as much for them as you don’t want to do something that’s going to harm them.

“I’ve also spoken to pigeon handlers for advice. I don’t actually know he’s a male to be honest though. They’ve told me it’s difficult to check a pigeon’s sex until they lay eggs. I guess I’m an animal geek.

“Bob’s allowed to fly around the house but never goes upstairs, and he’ll often sit with me, particularly when he’s hungry.

“If I fall asleep in front of the TV I’ll often wake up and he’ll be resting on me.”

Having learnt to deal with things like Bob’s insatiable appetite and resulting toilet habits, setting him free is going to be hard for Rachael after growing so close to her feathered friend.

“It will be hard as we’ve got quite close, but it’s for the best,” Rachael, a gardener and hairdresser, continues. “Hopefully I’ll see him in the garden from time to time.

“From the research I have done, any that have been hand reared will usually come back to feed, though I do try and ignore him as much as possible. If he does keep coming back then the plan is to make a roost for him in one of my old sheds in the garden, but hopefully he’ll go out and be fine.”